Ultrasound Technician Careers

Ultrasound Technician Job Description

Ultrasound technicians, also known as sonographers or diagnostic medical sonographers, are specially trained medical technicians who work directly with patients to conduct ultrasound scans of the internal organs, tissues and blood flow.

Ultrasound technicians operate and maintain the ultrasound equipment, manipulating the transducer (a wand-like instrument that produces high-frequency sound waves) over the body to get the best quality images, and assess each image taken, selecting the best set for a physician to review. A technician may make notes and calculations as part of a preliminary image review, but only a licensed physician can make an official diagnosis from an ultrasound scan.

The job of ultrasound technician can be particularly attractive to those who wish to enter the medical field but don't have the time or financial resources for several years of schooling.

Many technicians spend only two years in ultrasound school and can command salaries in the low $30,000s upon entry into the field. Ultrasound technicians must be physically fit to help lift or move patients into position for testing. They must also enjoy working with people, since the majority of their work involves intimate contact with patients during testing procedures.

Ultrasound Technician Career Outlook

As the US population grows and ages, the need for health care services—including diagnostic medical imaging—will increase. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) predicts that employment of ultrasound technicians will grow 19 percent by 2016. That is much faster than the average for all occupations in the United States.

Most ultrasound technicians work in hospitals conducting tests, either in a designated testing room or at a patient's bedside. However, some technicians are finding increasingly available opportunities at private physicians' offices, clinics, and at stand-alone diagnostic medical imaging laboratories.

Ultrasound Technician Salaries

According to the American Medical Association (AMA), entry-level ultrasound technicians made an average salary of $42,250 in 2007 but experienced technicians earned up to $81,260.

A 2005 survey conducted by the Society of Diagnostic Medical Sonography (SDMS) listed the annual median salary for all Ultrasound Technicians at $61,984, which includes standard hourly pay, overtime and additional on-call earnings. The SDMS survey also found that 81 percent of technicians surveyed were paid by the hour, earning an average hourly rate of $29.

The table below shows the average salary rates in May 2008 for ultrasound technicians in the field's top five highest-employing industries:

Think you have what it takes to become an ultrasound technician? Begin your ultrasound technician career today by finding ultrasound schools in your area.